Living in Washington Heights, NY: what to set up and who to call
Washington Heights has no town government of its own, so Orange County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Middletown City School District. The closest ER is Garnet Health Medical Center, 3.3 miles away.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Washington Heights, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Washington Heights.
Power comes from Orange & Rockland
Orange & Rockland (Orange & Rockland Utilities, Inc.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Washington Heights. Its homes paid an average of 26.2¢ per kWh in 2025, about $182 a month (its average across New York, for customers on its standard service). New York lets you buy power from another supplier; 9% of Orange & Rockland’s home customers do, and Orange & Rockland still delivers it.
Start or move service: www.oru.com · (877) 434-4100
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Middletown City water system
The Middletown City water system supplies Washington Heights: about 31% of residents live in its service area. Wallkill Consolidated WD serves another 31%. About 39% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws surface water and serves 30,000 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 83% of the 3,525 systems serving 10,001–50,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2021–Dec 2023, was 1.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s lower than 59% of similar systems’ latest results.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. NY3503534.
6 home internet providers serve Washington Heights
99% of 800 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 60% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alteva Of Warwick | DSL | 100% | 10/1 |
| Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 98% | 1,000/35 |
| Frontier | Fiber, DSL | 62% | 5,000/5,000 |
| Greenlight Networks | Fiber | 56% | 8,000/8,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 86% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 84% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Washington Heights’ trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Washington Heights.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of Washington Heights (86%) is in Middletown City School District; parts are in Minisink Valley Central School District (14%).
Test scores and every school: see Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
No town hall: the county runs things
Washington Heights is unincorporated, so Orange County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jun 2023; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Washington Heights is in ZIP code 10940
ZIP codes where Washington Heights residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Washington Heights | ZIP’s residents in Washington Heights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10940 | Middletown, NY | 100% | 4% |
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Washington Heights
Who supplies Washington Heights’ drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Middletown City water system (EPA ID NY3503534). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 83% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 1.0 ppb (Jan 2021–Dec 2023), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Washington Heights?
Orange & Rockland (Orange & Rockland Utilities, Inc.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 26.2¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Washington Heights?
Alteva Of Warwick, Spectrum, Frontier, Greenlight Networks, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Washington Heights?
10940. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Washington Heights in?
Middletown City School District. Parts of the city are in Minisink Valley Central School District.
How do I register to vote in Washington Heights?
In New York you can register online until 10 days before Election Day, in person until 10 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before and received 10 days before). Elections here are run by the Orange County Board of Elections. Check your registration at voterlookup.elections.ny.gov.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.